Pipe joint clamp



ct. 31, 1939-. (z, NORTON 1178286 PIPE JO INT CLAMP original Filed sepi. 3, 1938 2 snees-sheet 2 Patented Oct. 31, 1939 UI`I I FE`.Dv STATES lPII'E JOIN'I' CLAMP Charles E. Norton, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Norton-McMurray Manufacturing Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Original application September 3, 1938, Serial No. 228,421, now Patent No. 2,163,261, dated June 20, 1939. Divided and this application April 27, 1939, Serial No. 270,337

3 Clalms. (Cl. 285-194) My invention relates to pipe joint clamps and particularly'to clamps having novel structural features whereby such clamps can be applied by an improved method heretofore unknown. This application is a division of my parent application Serial'No. 228,421, filed September 3, 1938, now Patent No. 2,163,26l, datedv June 20, 1939.

VIn the cities and villages throughout the United States there are thousands of miles of gas pipe having bell and spigot joints which are sealed with lead or other suitable material. As a vresult of ground settlement, vibration due Ato trucks. and other heavy Vehicles, and for other miscellaneous causes, leakage of gas frequently occurs at these joints. This leakage results in loss of valuable gas, damage to vegetation adjacent the leak, and fire hazard, wherefore, it is customaryfor the gas companies to repair such leaks promptly.

, Such repair is 'effected either by digging a hole in the street or pavement down to the leak so that a man or men can either reseal the leak by removing the sealing material and replacing it with new material, orby applying a pipe joint clamp in lieu of replacing the sealing material. It is more common at present to apply a pipe joint clamp for the purpose of sealing the leak than lt is to replace the sealing material in the pipe joint.

`In either event, it has heretofore been necessary to dig a hole in the pavement in the street or sldewalk large enough to permit a man to enter the hole and make the necessary repair. In fact, it is essentlal that the hole in the pavement of the street or sidewalk be somewhat'larger than necessary to admit a man in order that he will have. sumcient ventilatlonto prevent him from being overcome by the escaping gas. Even so,

. the repair of gas main'leaks by present methods is expenslve, dangerous and unhealthy.

. An object of my invention is to provide-a novel pipe joint clamp which can be applied through a hole in the pavement 'much smaller than that heretofore necessary. i w

Another object of my invention is to ellminate the health hazard heretofore present in making such repairs by providing a novel clamp which may be applied to the pipe by a workman standing on the pavement. v

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved clamprwhich can be applied to underground piping more easily, quickiy and cheaply than the clamps heretofore used.v v

Another object of my invention is to provide p a clamphaving novel characteristics whereby it may be applied to and secured in sealing en- Eagement with a pipe by tools operated or contzi'olled by men located at av distance from the P P6- 'i Another object of my invention is to improve the various structural features of pipe joint clamps; g

Other objects and advantages will become apparent 'as the description proceeds. w In the drawings, Figure l is a plan view of a pipe joint clamp embodying my invention and 'showing the clamp applied to a bell and spigot ing. in the direction of'the arrow marked `5 Vin Figure 2; V a i Figure `6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of Figure v4;; and a j Figure 7 is a detail view showing the cap screw and is taken along the line ,'l-l of Figure 5.

Refemng t the drawnga I have .iilustrad'i' therein, as best seen in Figures 3 and 6,: abell and spigot type of pipe joint wherein the pipe-20 has a bell 22 providing a socket for receiving the spigot end 2|. This space is adapted tobe fllled;v

by any suitablelsealing means. In the particular instance, I have illustrated the seal 4as being eifected by a yarn packing 32 and lead 35, although it is to be understood that these sub- `stances are selected for Illustration only and that `my invention is Independent of the particular sealing material used.

Lead, cement, and the other sealing materials commonly used to seal such bell and spigot joints have little or no resiliency and where the ypipe joint is subjected to vibration or strains due to other causes, the sealing material frequently cracks and leakage of gas or other fiuid results.

My improved pipe clamp comprises an anchor ring 3| which comprises two sections 34a and 34h b ia provided with a fair of openings for receiving the ends of bolts |2 which connect the anchor ring with the follower ring ll. Each of the bolts 42 has an intermediate flange or head ll which is preferably of rectangular shape to permit the application of a .wrench thereto and each end of each bolt 42 is threaded as clearly indicated in the drawings. One end of each bolt |2 extends through one of the openings in the anchor ring and is secured in place by a nut 48 which is illustrated as having a cylindrical portion I. and a rectangular or other wrench-engaging portion 52.

I have illustrated each bolt 42 as being provided with a rubber sleeve 54 which snugly nt the bolts 42 and grip the threaded portions thereof sumcientiy to oifer an appreciable resistance to movement of the sleeves lengthwise of the bolts. In the initial assembly of the clamp, the sleeves ll engage the follower ring 4| and as the nuts 5| are advanced, the rubber sleeves 54 grip the threaded portions of the bolts 42 and offer sumcient resistance to advancement of the follower ring ll to prevent baclrward rotation of the nuts ll during the idle strokes of a ratchet wrench or` similar tool applied thereto. f

If desired, the rubber sleeves 54 may 'be replaced by springs as shown most clearly in Figures l, 3 and 5 of my said parent application.

The follower ring H is likewise made in two sections a and Mb. Each section is provided with an ear ll which are adapted to be hinged together by means of a wooden pin 60. The upper half of the follower ring H is provided with bosses 82a and a and the lower half with bosses 82h and Mb, the bosses 82a and 62h being securely clamped together by a cap screw 6| and the bosses a and b being clamped together by a cap screw GI when the clamp is secured in place on a `gas main .or other pipe. The wooden 'pin 80 face 18 of the bell on the pipe 20 and a second face 'lt engaging the outer surface of an adjacent i portion of the spigot end of the pipe 2|, whereby a seal is effected between the twopipes which prevents leakage through' the bell and spigot joint in spite of the fact that the sealing material in this joint is no longer capable of preventing such leakage.

. In Figure 7 I have shown the position of the cap screw I. when my clamp is firrnly secured aboutza pipe joint. The cap screw has a tapered guiding end On and a threaded portion 22 which is shown as being engaged with the threads formed in the boss Mb. Before the clamp is positioned about the pipe joint, the cap screw 68 is positioned so that thethreaded portion 82 engages the threaded portion of the boss Na and after the i clamp has lbeen placed about the pipe, the cap screw is rotated to advance it to the position and the follower ring ll are spaced far apart and the nuts l engage the extreme ends of the bolts 42. After the clamp has been placed about the pipe and the cap screws advanced to clamp the sections of the anchor and follower rings together, a wrench is applied to the nuts 5| to draw the follower and anchor rings together and thus force the sealinii'` ring 'IO into firm sealing engagement with the face 'lt of the bell 22 and the adiacent outer portion of the cooperating pipe. The function of the sleeves Il is to hold the follower and anchor rings in spaced relation while the clampis placed about the pipe joint and to maintain sufiicient frictionalcontact between the follower ring lll and nuts Il to prevent backward rotation of these nuts during the idle stroke of a ratche wrench or other suitable tool. a

The novel method by which my new and improved clamp may be applied to piping located below the surface of the ground is fully described and claimed in my said parent application. It will snflice here simply to state that with my novel clamp it is not necessary to dig a hole below the surface of the ground large enough for a man to descend to the pipe for the purpose of applying the clamp thereto. All that is needed is a relatively small hole whereby the 'clamp can be lowered to the pipe and applied .thereto in seallng engagement therewith by tools manipulated by a workman or workmen standing on the surface of the `around.

While I have described my invention as particularly desirable for repairing leaks ingas mains. it is to be understood that my invention may be applied to piping used for other purposes and is not limited to the repair of gas mains. My invention is not limited to the particular form illustrated and descrlbed in detali herein, but may assume numerous other forms, of which av very few are illustrated and described in my said parent application. The appended claims are to be construed as covering the embodiment shown and all equivalents thereof.

I claim:

l. A pipe clamp of the class described, comprising a split anchor ring formed of a plurality of hinged sections, the sections having free ends being provided with bosses at said free ends,,a screw secured in one boss prior to application ofl the clamp to a pipe and adapted to engage the threads of a complementary boss for securing the anchor ring about a pipe, a split follower `ring formed of a plurality of hinged sections, the

sections of said follower ring having free ends being provided with bosses at said free ends, a screw secured i'n one of said last-named bosses prior to application of the clamp to a pipe joint and adapted to engage the threads of a second of said last-named bosses for securing the sections of vthe follower ring together about a pipe, a sealing ring carried by the follower ring, and adjustablemeans connecting the anchor ring and follower ring `and urging said sealing ring into fiuid-tight engagement with a pipe surface.

2. A pipe clamp of the class described, comprising an anchor ring formed of a plurality of sections.a hinge pivotally connecting one end of each section with an end of: an adiacent section, said sections having threaded bosses provided at their free ends, a cap screw having a guiding end and threads adapted to engage either of said threaded portions, a follower ring comprising a plurality of sections connected by yieldable hinge means, each section of said follower ring having a threaded boss at each end thereof, cap screws adapted to engage the threads of one boss prior to application of the clamp to a pipe joint and adapted to engage the threads of a second of said bosses for securing the sections of the follower ring together, a sealing ring carried by the follower ring, and adjustable means connecting the anchor ring and follower ring and urging said sealing ring into engagement with pipe ends.

3. In a pipe clamp of the class described, the

10 combination of a pair of hinged sectional metal rings, a sealing ring carried by one of said metal rings and urged into pipe engaging relationship thereby, threaded bolts for connecting said metal rings, nuts movable on said bolts to vary the relative positions of said rings, and means to maintain the sectional rings in. spaced-apart relation prior to assembling around a pipe joint comprising rubber sleeves closely engaging about said bolts and impinging against one of said rings. CHARLES E. NORTON. 

